Apart from Nigeria, only Eritrea and Benin have chosen not to join the zone. President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed concern it could allow neighboring countries to inundate Nigeria with low-priced goods, and confound efforts to encourage moribund local manufacturing and expand farming.

But a panel set up to assess the impact of joining the bloc recommended last week the president “should consider joining.”

“Our position is very simple, we support free trade as long as it is fair and conducted on an equitable basis,” the Twitter feed quoted Buhari as saying.

It added Nigeria would sign onto the deal at an upcoming African Union summit in Niamey, Niger. The agreement with the other signatories came into force on May 30.